For the last couple of days, my computer (brand now... bought in January 2010) has been making some noises which I'm not accustomed to hearing. I'm not sure if this is the sound of the fan running or something else. It is more of a high-pitch tone. While investigating this issue, I noticed that the air coming out of the back vents is very warm... its not hot (you can hold your hand there and not come anywhere near getting burned), but definitely very warm.

Before I go any further, I should mention that my computer is a HP Pavilion desktop (I don't remember the model number, but I can get it if need be) that I bought from BestBuy. I'm a graphic designer, so I need to run Photoshop, etc. on my computer and it needs a good graphics card. When I bought the computer from the kid at BestBuy he told me it had a "top of the line" graphics card. When I got it home, I found that this was not the case.... that the pre-installed "card" (I don't even think it was an actual card) was pretty lousy. Eventually, I got ahold of a local repair tech who recommended installing the GeForce 9600 GT. I bought the card and paid him to install it. No real problems to speak of, until now (the issues described above).

Anyway, I did some checking around online, and was told to download a product called Everest, which I did. When I ran my intial report, it indicated the following values for the temperatures:

From what I've been able to gather, it sounds like the MCP is running much too hot. The highest value I've been able to see online was 110Â° (which someone also said was way too high) and mine is running a full 10Â° above that.

I've put in a call to the tech guy who installed the card, but he hasn't replied yet. I'm really alarmed by this and I'd like to know where I should go from here or if its even safe to run my computer without fear of it crashing on me. The one saving grace is that the computer SEEMS to be stable... every now and then, Photoshop has a hiccup where it is slow to refresh the screen, but no problems otherwise (knock on wood). And since buying the computer, I've been continuously running the HP Diagnostics test and it continuously comes up saying the computer is running perfectly.

For now (this evening), I have shut the computer off, in hopes that the components will cool down. Hopefully this was not a mistake.

For the last couple of days, my computer (brand now... bought in January 2010) has been making some noises which I'm not accustomed to hearing. I'm not sure if this is the sound of the fan running or something else. It is more of a high-pitch tone. While investigating this issue, I noticed that the air coming out of the back vents is very warm... its not hot (you can hold your hand there and not come anywhere near getting burned), but definitely very warm.

Before I go any further, I should mention that my computer is a HP Pavilion desktop (I don't remember the model number, but I can get it if need be) that I bought from BestBuy. I'm a graphic designer, so I need to run Photoshop, etc. on my computer and it needs a good graphics card. When I bought the computer from the kid at BestBuy he told me it had a "top of the line" graphics card. When I got it home, I found that this was not the case.... that the pre-installed "card" (I don't even think it was an actual card) was pretty lousy. Eventually, I got ahold of a local repair tech who recommended installing the GeForce 9600 GT. I bought the card and paid him to install it. No real problems to speak of, until now (the issues described above).

Anyway, I did some checking around online, and was told to download a product called Everest, which I did. When I ran my intial report, it indicated the following values for the temperatures:

Temperatures:

Motherboard 35 Â°C (95 Â°F)

CPU 56 Â°C (133 Â°F)

CPU #1 / Core #1 40 Â°C (104 Â°F)

CPU #1 / Core #2 40 Â°C (104 Â°F)

CPU #1 / Core #3 40 Â°C (104 Â°F)

CPU #1 / Core #4 40 Â°C (104 Â°F)

MCP 110 Â°C (230 Â°F)

GPU Diode 67 Â°C (153 Â°F)

WDC WD10EADS-65M2B0 [ TRIAL VERSION ]

WDC WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0 [ TRIAL VERSION ]

From what I've been able to gather, it sounds like the MCP is running much too hot. The highest value I've been able to see online was 110Â° (which someone also said was way too high) and mine is running a full 10Â° above that.

I've put in a call to the tech guy who installed the card, but he hasn't replied yet. I'm really alarmed by this and I'd like to know where I should go from here or if its even safe to run my computer without fear of it crashing on me. The one saving grace is that the computer SEEMS to be stable... every now and then, Photoshop has a hiccup where it is slow to refresh the screen, but no problems otherwise (knock on wood). And since buying the computer, I've been continuously running the HP Diagnostics test and it continuously comes up saying the computer is running perfectly.

For now (this evening), I have shut the computer off, in hopes that the components will cool down. Hopefully this was not a mistake.

I should also mention that at the time I ran this test, the computer wasn't really doing anything else. I had been running Photoshop, but closed it an hour before running the test. And I played a few .wmv files on it earlier in the day, but again, this was hours before running the test. Thanks again.

I should also mention that at the time I ran this test, the computer wasn't really doing anything else. I had been running Photoshop, but closed it an hour before running the test. And I played a few .wmv files on it earlier in the day, but again, this was hours before running the test. Thanks again.

110C for a 9600GT is pretty much the breaking point. Any higher and the GPU will automatically throttle back clock speeds to cool it's self down before it melts. It's a good thing you shut the PC down and I would leave it off until you find the root cause of the issue. From the sound of your post you don't seem to be the type who is going to want to open the case and have a poke around, so my best suggestion is to have this "tech" come out and do that for you. Make sure that when he is there you mention "air flow" which should be bringing in cold air from the front of the case and exhausting hot air out the back. Mostly this is done with case fans setup in a push/pull fashion. Hopefully the cause of your issue is a dead or disconnected fan that can be replaced for only a few $. You did the right thing in downloading Everest. It's a great app which many of us on the forums use. Not really much else I can help with without getting into the nitty gritty of taking things apart and diagnosing the issue.

My deepest sympathy to you for trusting a kid and then buying a PC at Best Buy. Let alone an HP. I've got a bridge for sale if your interested....j/k

110C for a 9600GT is pretty much the breaking point. Any higher and the GPU will automatically throttle back clock speeds to cool it's self down before it melts. It's a good thing you shut the PC down and I would leave it off until you find the root cause of the issue. From the sound of your post you don't seem to be the type who is going to want to open the case and have a poke around, so my best suggestion is to have this "tech" come out and do that for you. Make sure that when he is there you mention "air flow" which should be bringing in cold air from the front of the case and exhausting hot air out the back. Mostly this is done with case fans setup in a push/pull fashion. Hopefully the cause of your issue is a dead or disconnected fan that can be replaced for only a few $. You did the right thing in downloading Everest. It's a great app which many of us on the forums use. Not really much else I can help with without getting into the nitty gritty of taking things apart and diagnosing the issue.

My deepest sympathy to you for trusting a kid and then buying a PC at Best Buy. Let alone an HP. I've got a bridge for sale if your interested....j/k

[quote name='420Ryme' post='1099240' date='Aug 5 2010, 12:13 AM']110C for a 9600GT is pretty much the breaking point. Any higher and the GPU will automatically throttle back clock speeds to cool it's self down before it melts. It's a good thing you shut the PC down and I would leave it off until you find the root cause of the issue. From the sound of your post you don't seem to be the type who is going to want to open the case and have a poke around, so my best suggestion is to have this "tech" come out and do that for you. Make sure that when he is there you mention "air flow" which should be bringing in cold air from the front of the case and exhausting hot air out the back. Mostly this is done with case fans setup in a push/pull fashion. Hopefully the cause of your issue is a dead or disconnected fan that can be replaced for only a few $. You did the right thing in downloading Everest. It's a great app which many of us on the forums use. Not really much else I can help with without getting into the nitty gritty of taking things apart and diagnosing the issue.

My deepest sympathy to you for trusting a kid and then buying a PC at Best Buy. Let alone an HP. I've got a bridge for sale if your interested....j/k[/quote]

Have you checked the HP driver site to see if there is a BIOS update for your model? I had a problem with the fan on my pavilion 6210y running at high rate. There was a BIOS update for my board that had a fix for thermal control. It now run at a normal speed and heat is not a problem.

[quote name='420Ryme' post='1099240' date='Aug 5 2010, 12:13 AM']110C for a 9600GT is pretty much the breaking point. Any higher and the GPU will automatically throttle back clock speeds to cool it's self down before it melts. It's a good thing you shut the PC down and I would leave it off until you find the root cause of the issue. From the sound of your post you don't seem to be the type who is going to want to open the case and have a poke around, so my best suggestion is to have this "tech" come out and do that for you. Make sure that when he is there you mention "air flow" which should be bringing in cold air from the front of the case and exhausting hot air out the back. Mostly this is done with case fans setup in a push/pull fashion. Hopefully the cause of your issue is a dead or disconnected fan that can be replaced for only a few $. You did the right thing in downloading Everest. It's a great app which many of us on the forums use. Not really much else I can help with without getting into the nitty gritty of taking things apart and diagnosing the issue.

My deepest sympathy to you for trusting a kid and then buying a PC at Best Buy. Let alone an HP. I've got a bridge for sale if your interested....j/k

Have you checked the HP driver site to see if there is a BIOS update for your model? I had a problem with the fan on my pavilion 6210y running at high rate. There was a BIOS update for my board that had a fix for thermal control. It now run at a normal speed and heat is not a problem.

1) I turned off the computer overnight (probably the first time its been turned off overnight since I purchased it).

2) Before starting it up this morning, I moved the computer from its usual spot (below a table/desk) to a new spot on the table (where, presumably, airflow is going to be better).

3) At this time, I did notice some dust buildup on the side ventilation ports (more than I would have expected). I removed the side panel and cleaned off the dust.

4) I turned on the computer with the side panel removed (hopefully this is okay) and I see that all three fans inside the unit are running.

5) I ran the Everest report with the side panel removed. The values are considerably lower (see below), but I would expect this since the side panel was removed and the computer had been turned off for 5+ hours.

6) Turned off computer, replaced side panel and turned computer back on.

Anyway, so now the computer is running again. To me, the air coming out of the back already feels warmer than I would expect, so I'm still quite anxious.

Somebody mentioned that ALL of the temps I initially listed seemed high, not just the MCP. Is this correct?

I'm going to download the NVIDIA System Tools right now. Will run that and another Everest report in an hour or so to see how things are progressing.

Also, I snapped a pic of the inside of the case when it was open. With regard to Ryme's comment about airflow, it occurs to me that there is no real way for air to enter the front of the desktop, as there are no vents in the front. So perhaps this is partially responsible? If so, is it possible (and advisable) to run the computer with the side panel removed, at least on a short-term basis?

Thanks again for everyone who has offered help/advice.

Values w/computer side panel removed (and after computer was off for five hours):

1) I turned off the computer overnight (probably the first time its been turned off overnight since I purchased it).

2) Before starting it up this morning, I moved the computer from its usual spot (below a table/desk) to a new spot on the table (where, presumably, airflow is going to be better).

3) At this time, I did notice some dust buildup on the side ventilation ports (more than I would have expected). I removed the side panel and cleaned off the dust.

4) I turned on the computer with the side panel removed (hopefully this is okay) and I see that all three fans inside the unit are running.

5) I ran the Everest report with the side panel removed. The values are considerably lower (see below), but I would expect this since the side panel was removed and the computer had been turned off for 5+ hours.

6) Turned off computer, replaced side panel and turned computer back on.

Anyway, so now the computer is running again. To me, the air coming out of the back already feels warmer than I would expect, so I'm still quite anxious.

Somebody mentioned that ALL of the temps I initially listed seemed high, not just the MCP. Is this correct?

I'm going to download the NVIDIA System Tools right now. Will run that and another Everest report in an hour or so to see how things are progressing.

Also, I snapped a pic of the inside of the case when it was open. With regard to Ryme's comment about airflow, it occurs to me that there is no real way for air to enter the front of the desktop, as there are no vents in the front. So perhaps this is partially responsible? If so, is it possible (and advisable) to run the computer with the side panel removed, at least on a short-term basis?

Thanks again for everyone who has offered help/advice.

Values w/computer side panel removed (and after computer was off for five hours):

[quote name='needleman' post='1099254' date='Aug 5 2010, 05:59 AM']Have you checked the HP driver site to see if there is a BIOS update for your model? I had a problem with the fan on my pavilion 6210y running at high rate. There was a BIOS update for my board that had a fix for thermal control. It now run at a normal speed and heat is not a problem.[/quote]

This actually reminds me of something I had completely forgotten about (and which I feel like a fool for not having thought of it sooner). When I first got the computer back from the tech, I was getting an error message when running Photoshop (see partial screenshot taken back in January, below).

I contacted the tech about this and he replied as follows:

[i]I used the drivers on the disk. NVidia had been experiencing troubles with the newest driver (196.75).
Let's try the drivers(197.13) on this page.[/i]

I did download the driver he recommended (197.13). I wonder if this could be the issue. Any thoughts? If it is, in fact, a driver issue, is this the one I would want to download and install? (I've confirmed that I'm on a 64-bit system):

[quote name='needleman' post='1099254' date='Aug 5 2010, 05:59 AM']Have you checked the HP driver site to see if there is a BIOS update for your model? I had a problem with the fan on my pavilion 6210y running at high rate. There was a BIOS update for my board that had a fix for thermal control. It now run at a normal speed and heat is not a problem.

This actually reminds me of something I had completely forgotten about (and which I feel like a fool for not having thought of it sooner). When I first got the computer back from the tech, I was getting an error message when running Photoshop (see partial screenshot taken back in January, below).

I contacted the tech about this and he replied as follows:

I used the drivers on the disk. NVidia had been experiencing troubles with the newest driver (196.75).

Let's try the drivers(197.13) on this page.

I did download the driver he recommended (197.13). I wonder if this could be the issue. Any thoughts? If it is, in fact, a driver issue, is this the one I would want to download and install? (I've confirmed that I'm on a 64-bit system):

[quote name='StellarNinja' post='1099237' date='Aug 5 2010, 05:02 AM']Downlod NVIDIA's system monitor, it's probubly more accurate than the program you have just to make sure that the card really is running hot and its not just a malfunction of the program

Its insane for a card to run that hot at idol, also make sure that the cooling fan on the card is spinning properly[/quote]

I downloaded this app (actually, I inadvertently downloaded three apps --- System Monitor, Performance and System Update) but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get it to display the temperature to display for the GeForce card. What a lousy interface.

[quote name='StellarNinja' post='1099237' date='Aug 5 2010, 05:02 AM']Downlod NVIDIA's system monitor, it's probubly more accurate than the program you have just to make sure that the card really is running hot and its not just a malfunction of the program

Its insane for a card to run that hot at idol, also make sure that the cooling fan on the card is spinning properly

I downloaded this app (actually, I inadvertently downloaded three apps --- System Monitor, Performance and System Update) but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get it to display the temperature to display for the GeForce card. What a lousy interface.

I updated the driver using the "update driver" button found in the Windows Device Manager. However, the driver that is now installed does not appear to match up to the one I linked to previously... so I'm not sure what to do next. See screenshot. Any help?

I updated the driver using the "update driver" button found in the Windows Device Manager. However, the driver that is now installed does not appear to match up to the one I linked to previously... so I'm not sure what to do next. See screenshot. Any help?

I've gone ahead and updated the driver via the NVIDIA web site. Did a download, install and reboot. Computer continues to run hot, though when I did a check using SpeedFan, the numbers are quite a bit different. Its also my understanding that the GPU temp of 64Â° C (as seen in the speedfan attachment) is not that hot in terms of what this card is used to running at (even though it lists as "hot" on Speedfan). Is that correct, or have I received bad information?

Also... what is the difference between the GPU temp and the MCP temp? I thought that these were one and the same, but I guess not.

For right now, I was thinking of running the computer with the side panel removed, to maximize airflow in and out of the unit and to keep the computer running. I'm really swamped with work right now, so my hope is to keep the computer going until next Tuesday or so, when I can take it over to the tech and have him perform a complete analysis. Is this advisable (running computer with side panel removed)?

Lastly, as noted previously, I inadvertently installed NVIDIA Performance and NVIDIA System Update when I downloaded the NVIDIA System Monitor app. As these other two programs appear to be taking up some space in the system tray, is it safe to uninstall them, or is it best to just leave them installed on the system?

I've gone ahead and updated the driver via the NVIDIA web site. Did a download, install and reboot. Computer continues to run hot, though when I did a check using SpeedFan, the numbers are quite a bit different. Its also my understanding that the GPU temp of 64Â° C (as seen in the speedfan attachment) is not that hot in terms of what this card is used to running at (even though it lists as "hot" on Speedfan). Is that correct, or have I received bad information?

Also... what is the difference between the GPU temp and the MCP temp? I thought that these were one and the same, but I guess not.

For right now, I was thinking of running the computer with the side panel removed, to maximize airflow in and out of the unit and to keep the computer running. I'm really swamped with work right now, so my hope is to keep the computer going until next Tuesday or so, when I can take it over to the tech and have him perform a complete analysis. Is this advisable (running computer with side panel removed)?

Lastly, as noted previously, I inadvertently installed NVIDIA Performance and NVIDIA System Update when I downloaded the NVIDIA System Monitor app. As these other two programs appear to be taking up some space in the system tray, is it safe to uninstall them, or is it best to just leave them installed on the system?

I did get ahold of my tech guy and the plan is to try to keep the computer running for the next few days (since I'm currently swamped with work and can't really afford to be without my computer). Then, next week, when I go out of town, I'll take it to his place so he can watch if for a few days. Just praying at this point that something doesn't burn out. Hopefully, by keeping the side panel open, I can keep the temperatures down. Do any of the temps listed above strike you as being too high?

Tech guy also mentioned that he thought there was a possibility that the MCP reading could be a false alert due to the position of the diode... I'm open to all possibilities, but just wary of grasping on to the easiest apparent fix/explanation, only to have the computer go kaput on me in a few days, weeks or months.

He also had me download and run SpeedFan. The latest readings seem to put most of the temps in the normal range (again, with side panel open). And even the GPU reading (although listed as "hot") is apparently well within the normal range for my card. He explained that I could configure my fans using SpeedFan, but the program is not allowing me to do so for some reason. I followed the instructions seen at the link below, but the fans do not appear when I go into the Configure panel and select the temps from the list. Plus the third fan consistently shows as "0 RPM" even though I can clearly see it running inside of the case.

I've been running the computer for the last 5-6 hours with the side panel removed and a fan directed towards it.

Here are the latest readings:

Temperatures:

Motherboard 33 Â°C (91 Â°F)

CPU 43 Â°C (109 Â°F)

CPU #1 / Core #1 35 Â°C (95 Â°F)

CPU #1 / Core #2 35 Â°C (95 Â°F)

CPU #1 / Core #3 35 Â°C (95 Â°F)

CPU #1 / Core #4 35 Â°C (95 Â°F)

MCP 82 Â°C (180 Â°F)

GPU Diode 56 Â°C (133 Â°F)

WDC WD10EADS-65M2B0 [ TRIAL VERSION ]

WDC WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0 [ TRIAL VERSION ]

I did get ahold of my tech guy and the plan is to try to keep the computer running for the next few days (since I'm currently swamped with work and can't really afford to be without my computer). Then, next week, when I go out of town, I'll take it to his place so he can watch if for a few days. Just praying at this point that something doesn't burn out. Hopefully, by keeping the side panel open, I can keep the temperatures down. Do any of the temps listed above strike you as being too high?

Tech guy also mentioned that he thought there was a possibility that the MCP reading could be a false alert due to the position of the diode... I'm open to all possibilities, but just wary of grasping on to the easiest apparent fix/explanation, only to have the computer go kaput on me in a few days, weeks or months.

He also had me download and run SpeedFan. The latest readings seem to put most of the temps in the normal range (again, with side panel open). And even the GPU reading (although listed as "hot") is apparently well within the normal range for my card. He explained that I could configure my fans using SpeedFan, but the program is not allowing me to do so for some reason. I followed the instructions seen at the link below, but the fans do not appear when I go into the Configure panel and select the temps from the list. Plus the third fan consistently shows as "0 RPM" even though I can clearly see it running inside of the case.

This is probably a dumb question, but is there any chance that by running my monitor in HD (using an HDMI cable) this is causing the card to run hot? In other words, would it be worth it to try hooking up the monitor using a standard cable?

This is probably a dumb question, but is there any chance that by running my monitor in HD (using an HDMI cable) this is causing the card to run hot? In other words, would it be worth it to try hooking up the monitor using a standard cable?